The Wife of the Dragon
by The 4th Snake
Summary: Ryu and Irene were married originally. I wanted to make a short with that in mind.


He landed, silent as the cherry blossoms. He struck, swift as the wind. He lunged, fierce as a wolf. And he shook the blood from his blade, precise as his strike.

Ryu sheathed his sword as he stood over the bodies of the two Black Spider ninja he had just slain. If these two were skulking around so close to the Hayabusa Village, that meant their compatriots were likely laying siege to it at that very moment. The ominous rising smoke in the distance seemed to suggest this was the case.

He set off at a sprint, faster than even the most dedicated Olympic sprinter. All ninja were trained for speed and agility, if not for combat or assassination. Luckily, as one of the Dragon Lineage, Ryu was already inhumanly fast and powerful; even without the training, which had honed his skills to perfection. He was moving with speed greater than most automobiles, determination driving him forward.

Irene was in the village, watching over Ryu's blind father, Jo, while her husband attended to business with the Mugen Tenshin and DOATEC. She was tough, for sure - one of the best agents the CIA had, in fact. But even so, ninja in the modern day were trained to deal with people of Irene's exact experience and skillset. Would she be able to detect an enemy assassin before he got to her? Would she be able to fend him off if she did?

He rushed through the trees and the paths until he arrived at the cemetery on the edge of the village. The journey up the mountain to the castle would be a long one, unless Jo was elsewhere in the village. Ryu knew he may only have time to head in one direction as he cut down an enemy intending to murder the children hiding in the cemetery.

Sanji had led them here to protect them during the attack on Momiji's orders. According to Sanji, Jo and Irene had indeed descended from the castle that morning, but he was unsure if they had returned before the attack. Ryu thanked him for his information and leapt down to where another group of enemy ninja were waiting.

As he cut them down effortlessly, Ryu had to make a choice: head for the castle, hoping Irene and Jo had returned and fortified their position; or head in the opposite direction to search the village. Where would Irene be likely to have taken Jo? Surely, she would have gone somewhere she knew Ryu would go to find her, him knowing she would have gone there.

Irene had a keen tactical mind, so it would be a place they could easily defend. But it would also be a place of significance to her husband. The whole village and everyone in it was significant to him, so it would be somewhere of extra special importance.

He remembered the first time he had brought her here. Irene and Jo had met previously during the original Jaquio incident that had left his father blind in the first place. Once Jaquio was dead for good, Ryu had decided to settle down with Irene and had promptly brought her back to the village to announce his intentions to his father. They had been so happy when Jo smiled warmly and told them he approved.

The soon-to-be Mrs. Hayabusa had then moved into the village, where she was welcomed by the clan with open arms. She still worked for the CIA, often serving as liaison between the the agency and the clan. She still had her home in Langley for when she needed to be closer to work, but the two also had another home in New York for when they just needed to get away from it all. They ran a small curio shop there, more for the experience than the money.

But before all that, the night Ryu and Irene had met with his father, Ryu had taken Irene to the archery range by the river that ran through the middle of the village. From there, Ryu shared with Irene the view of the full moon in the starry night sky, its light illuminating both the distant Hayabusa Castle and the numerous sakura trees that lined the opposite side of the river.

She had been left speechless by the beauty of the village. He'd loved her expression, the way the moonlight accentuated her perfect features. He'd then brushed some of her hair out of her face, held her delicate cheek and pulled her in for a kiss.

That was the place. He could feel it. He headed deeper into the village, massacring the invaders with relative ease as he went. The path to the archery range from the cemetery was short. He arrived soon to find the nearby storage shed ablaze with a loud commotion going on inside.

They were in there, no doubt. Weapons were stored there and other members of the clan often headed there during attacks, giving the duo potential backup. Ryu rushed towards the shed door.

BLAM!

The door flew out of its frame with a thunderous crash as one of the Black Spiders collided with it, a lethal wound leaving little remaining of his chest cavity as he hit the ground. A second ninja flipped out through the door, only to then be shot dead as well.

Irene emerged, holding a pump action shotgun in her right hand and a spare katana in her left. The second he saw her, Ryu rushed over, calling out her name. She turned, surprised, but smiled as he approached. He pulled down his mask and took Irene up in a deep kiss. He should have known she could take care of herself, even without the sword training he had been giving her; she _was_ one of the CIA's top operatives, after all.

He told her how glad he was she was okay, and she said the same to him. Jo emerged from the shed as well, shaking off his son's concern. He told Ryu to track down the enemy's leader, while he and Momiji lead the non-combatants to a safe destination. Ryu told him about Sanji's group before he took Irene up in a bridal carry and headed off towards the castle.

He didn't know what they'd find there, but he looked down at the beautiful woman in his arms as she easily gunned down an enemy ninja, and he was confident that no enemy, however powerful, could ever hope to face up to Mr. and Mrs. Hayabusa.


End file.
